Chapter Three: Kamino
A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far! It means a lot to hear people's thoughts about Valencia.
"Well, this is a dreary place," Valencia remarked, gathering her cloak more tightly around herself as thunder rumbled overhead. The planet of Kamino appeared to be completely oceanic, with only few above-water settlements here and there. That wasn't to mention the rain, which pattered down heavily on the top of their ship as she and Obi-Wan disembarked. The cold breeze cut like a knife, and a shiver ran up her spine as she followed the older Jedi in through the doors.
They were immediately approached by a tall, elegant and pale creature that Valencia assumed must be a Kaminoan. The being's wide eyes examined them both, before settling upon Obi-Wan.
"Master Jedi. The Prime Minister is expecting you." The voice was ethereal and distinctly female.
"I'm expected?" Obi-Wan exchanged a look with Valencia, who shrugged her shoulders. She was acutely aware that the thin braid in her hair marked her out as a Padawan, and so she should expect people to pay more deference to Obi-Wan than her.
"Of course. He is anxious to meet you. After all these years, we were beginning to think you weren't coming." The Kaminoan stepped back, gesturing for them to come inside. "Now please, this way."
The interior of the facility was a complicated web of bright white corridors, and Valencia thought she might almost prefer the dark and dreary storm outside. She wrapped her dripping cloak more tightly around herself, wondering at the importance of this facility and Kamino in general. She couldn't sense anything unusual in the Force.
The female Kaminoan led Obi-Wan and Valencia into a large chamber, where another Kaminoan rose to greet them from a white chair. Valencia decided it was best to let Obi-Wan do the talking – he was more experienced, and a far better negotiator than she was.
"May I present Lama Su, Prime Minister of Kamino." She gestured to the Kaminoan approaching them, before turning back to Obi-Wan and Valencia. "And this is Master Jedi…"
"Obi-Wan Kenobi." He indicated Valencia, and she felt a rush of gratitude at not being completely invisible. "This is Padawan Valencia Jinn."
"I trust you're going to enjoy your stay." Another two white chairs descended, and he gestured for the pair to sit. "Please."
"Prime Minister, I was wondering if Valencia could have a tour of the facility while we talk."
Obi-Wan's suggestion made her snap her head around to look at him, but his eyes were fixed on the Kaminoan Prime Minister.
"But of course." Lama Su turned to the female. "Taun We, if you would be so kind."
Valencia opened her mouth to give an indignant reply, but Obi-Wan rested a hand on her shoulder. She realised that if he was getting her to go on a tour, he hoped she might find something. Valencia could only hope that he would relay what he discovered in the meeting when his business was concluded. Biting back the urge to contradict him – she wasn't his Padawan, after all – she followed Taun We out of the chamber.
"Is there somewhere to eat?" Valencia asked, feeling dazed and disorientated by the blinding brightness of the facility, "I'm starving."
She wasn't, but over the years, she'd found the most interesting place to observe people was in a cafeteria or the like. She and Aayla thoroughly enjoyed people-watching in some of the cafes on Coruscant when they had some down-time. When they'd been younger, they'd made up stories about them – where they were from, who they now. These days, they simply observed.
"Certainly."
As Taun We led her through the corridors, something struck Valencia as odd about the people they passed. Some were Kaminoans, but others were humans like herself. No women, only men. It suddenly struck Valencia, as she followed Taun We into the cafeteria, that all of the men had the same face. Tanned skin, varying ages but it was still the same face. There could be no doubt about it – they were clones.
A shudder ran down Valencia's spine and she headed up to get some food, slipping out some Republic credits to pay for her meal. When she turned around, she almost cannoned into a man. This one was different to the others – she didn't know how, she could just sense it. He had a scowl on his face. He was perhaps in his mid-forties, and he did not appear impressed.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
She arched an eyebrow. "I could ask the same of you."
Valencia was aware of how different she was. Among the Kaminoans and clones, a young woman in Jedi robes stood out. No wonder he'd approached her. She was a stranger – and it appeared this man was not particularly fond of strangers. Fortunately, Taun We glided over to diffuse any tension.
"Jango Fett, this is Valencia Jinn, a Jedi Padawan." Taun We seemed to be extremely proficient with introductions. "Jango is the template for the clones."
"Charmed." He sounded anything but. His dark eyes were critical as they examined her, and Valencia lifted her chin and dared him to make a judgement. Something about him made her skin prickle, and her fingers itched to touch her lightsaber, but she didn't want to give the wrong impression.
"Valencia is here with Master Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi to report on the clone army," Taun We said, "I'm certain you will meet with him later."
Jango's smile was tight. "I look forward to it."
Valencia watched him leave with a sense of deep unease. She felt that she needed to speak to Obi-Wan urgently, and see if they could match up what he had discussed with the Prime Minister with her own findings. Who was Jango Fett? Why had he been chosen as the clone template? Valencia knew she must be patient for all to be revealed.
It didn't take Valencia long to be reunited with Obi-Wan. However, when she opened her mouth to greet her fellow Jedi, she realised that Obi-Wan was looking shaken, causing her to frown.
"So, what did the Prime Minister tell you?"
"We have to go, now. I'll explain everything on the way." Obi-Wan beckoned for Valencia to follow, and despite her frustration that she was not getting answers due to this urgent matter, she believed Obi-Wan when he said he would tell her. She could tell that they were headed for the doors leading to the forever dreary whether outside, and Valencia shrugged her cloak more tightly around herself and braced for the cold of the rain.
Obi-Wan and Valencia sprinted out onto the landing platform, where a bounty hunter appeared to be in the process of loading up his ship. She had the distinct feeling that this was Jango, although now was not the right time to ask Obi-Wan if her hunch was correct. A young boy on the ramp, probably no more than ten, immediately pointed an accusing finger in their direction.
"Dad! Look!"
Jango whirled around to examine the two Jedi. "Boba, get on board."
Obi-Wan withdrew and ignited his lightsaber, and Valencia did the same as Jango withdrew twin guns and began shooting at them. Valencia gritted her teeth and deflected the blasts, as did her mentor. When Obi-Wan got almost close enough to strike him with the lightsaber, Jango activated his jetpack and soared upwards into the constant stream of rain.
Obi-Wan dropped and rolled as Jango shot at him from the sky. Valencia stepped back and waited for the bounty hunter to emerge from behind a pillar. She bounced on the balls of her feet, her purple lightsaber humming as she twirled it in circular motions. The ship began to swivel, making Valencia certain that Boba was responsible.
While they were distracted with the ship's movement, Jango fired a rocket that hit the ground near Obi-Wan's feet, sending him flying, his lightsaber clattering across the platform. Before the older Jedi could recover, Boba activated the ship's guns and fired on him. Valencia immediately charged for the ship, determined to disable the guns, but she was knocked to the ground by an airborne Jango. She coughed and rolled onto her side, the wind having rushed out of her at the impact.
As Jango flew toward Obi-Wan, he jumped into the air and delivered a kick that knocked the bounty hunter rolling, his gun clattering to the ground. Obi-Wan struck Jango in the head with his leg, the pair beginning a brawl as Valencia eased herself to her feet. A quick glance at the ship told her that Boba wasn't about to begin firing, which was just as well – she really didn't want to have to incapacitate a child.
When Obi-Wan went for his fallen lightsaber, Jango took flight once again, wrapping a cord around Obi-Wan's wrists that dragged him across the landing platform. Valencia immediately charged toward him, but he slid behind a pillar and used the cord to his advantage. He tugged hard so that Jango hit the platform, his jetpack hitting a nearby roof and exploding.
Obi-Wan sprinted over and kicked Jango before the bounty hunter could shoot him, sending Jango off the side of the platform. However, he didn't appear to have thought this through, as the cord connecting them meant that Obi-Wan went over the edge as well. Valencia lowered her lightsaber and heaved a sigh, unable to refrain from rolling her eyes. She was certain that Obi-Wan would be fine, but really, he hadn't thought the last move through at all.
Jango clambered back up onto the platform before Obi-Wan made his reappearance. Realising it was now up to her to apprehend him, Valencia twirled her lightsaber and charged. Jango dodged the first strike, spinning and striking Valencia hard enough to send her to the ground. Her head spun and there was the metallic taste of blood in her mouth as she eased her aching limbs back up. She was too late – Jango had already entered his ship.
By the time Obi-Wan returned to the landing platform, the ship was already taking off. Valencia glanced at him with despair, but Obi-Wan removed a tracking beacon from his robes and threw it onto the ship's hull. She smiled faintly at his ingenuity.
"Nice move."
"We need to follow him." Obi-Wan brushed off Valencia's praise, making her smile fade slightly as they headed back toward the ship. Stepping onto the ship, her first priority was to get out of her saturated robes and into something dry before she developed a shiver.
Valencia swept her wet hair into a ponytail and out of her eyes. She was grateful for the opportunity to have donned the spare, dry robes they had brought along with them. When she stepped into the cockpit, Obi-Wan was flicking the controls. Leaning over his shoulder, she examined the glowing light on the radar that represented the tracking beacon Obi-Wan had attached to Jango's ship.
"That could have gone better," she said dryly, "At least we can track him."
She slipped into the co-pilot's seat, and she surveyed the vast expanse of space laid out before them. When she had been small, Valencia had always dreamed of travelling the stars. She thought if she wasn't a Jedi, she would have been some sort of space explorer. Even in her current occupation, she knew that once she was Knighted, she would have many opportunities to travel to worlds other than Coruscant. As it was, her experience with other planets was sorely lacking.
"I'd forgotten you use Form IV." Obi-Wan's voice was quiet. "The Aggression Form."
The remark caught Valencia by surprise. "Well, why wouldn't I?"
"No reason, it's just that…" For a moment, Obi-Wan lapsed into contemplative silence, before his eyes met hers. "I used to use Form IV too. So did your father. After he was killed…I changed to Form III."
It was something Valencia truly had not known, and she didn't really have a response for the comment. She had often been told by many – Obi-Wan included – that she was like her father. She wondered if Obi-Wan thought that one day, she might die in a similar fashion to Qui-Gon. It was a chilling thought, and one that had no place in the peaceful Republic.
Yet…was it peaceful? More and more, the Jedi Order were beginning to acknowledge the disturbance in the Force, the dark side growing stronger. To Valencia, trouble was inevitable. It was not a matter of if, but when.
"I…I wasn't aware."
"I'm sorry." Obi-Wan reached up to rub his temples. "It's been a long and tiring day. I shouldn't have mentioned it."
"I don't mind," Valencia responded honestly. She had not known Qui-Gon overly well, and so it was always intriguing to learn about him through Obi-Wan's experiences. She had still been a kid when Qui-Gon had been killed by a mysterious Sith Lord. Whatever she knew about him was through other people.
Once, Valencia had been jealous that Obi-Wan had been closer with Qui-Gon than she ever had been – but after speaking to Rhesa and meditating, she acknowledged that there was no cause for envy. Rhesa had been a mother figure to her, as Qui-Gon had been a father figure to Obi-Wan. Perhaps she hadn't had a connection with her birth father, yet that didn't mean he hadn't cared.
"He mentioned you before he died," Obi-Wan stated, as if sensing Valencia's train of thought, "I remember speaking to you about it afterwards. He was proud of you."
"I don't think he would have been proud of the choices I made since," Valencia whispered, her words tainted with the shame of the mistakes that had almost gotten her expelled from the Order. Certainly Obi-Wan must know how close she'd come to being thrown out, even if he didn't know why.
"Everything happens for a reason." Obi-Wan rested a hand on her shoulder. "Even if we don't see it at the time. Whatever happened, it's in the past."
Except it's not. Valencia refrained from saying those fateful words. Her actions would always be with her. She could live with that, but she was still working on dispelling the shame.
Staying with the ship was not Valencia's idea of a good time, however this was a mission and not one of the club raves she'd attended in secret on Coruscant during her teenage years. If Obi-Wan believed it best for her to remain with the ship while he conducted his investigation, she would do so no matter her irritated feelings about it.
They had managed to avoid Jango's attempts to destroy them leading up to their landing on Geonosis. They had no idea whether the bounty hunter was aware of their survival, however Valencia knew that pressing the matter wasn't a wise idea. When Obi-Wan returned, Valencia was on her feet and down the ramp in moments, eager to discover what he had learned.
"Well? What happened?"
"I didn't find Jango Fett," Obi-Wan admitted, raking a hand through his hair, "However, I did manage to find someone unexpected – Count Dooku. It would appear that he is behind the Separatist movement."
Valencia knew Dooku by name only. He had left the Jedi Order when she had been a young teenager. It startled her that a former Jedi could fall so far.
"What are we going to do?"
"There's too many of them for us to take on alone." Obi-Wan shook his head. "We need to send a transmission alerting the Jedi Council to our findings here. This is bigger than we'd ever anticipated."
Valencia wrapped her cloak more tightly around her despite the dry desert heat of Geonosis. Her eyes scanned the horizon for movement as Obi-Wan sent a transmission to Anakin. Apparently, he was on Tatooine – although neither of them knew why, for he and Senator Amidala had been sent to her home planet of Naboo. Nonetheless, there wasn't the signal strength for Obi-Wan to transmit to Coruscant, so Anakin was his best bet.
"You might want to hurry," Valencia warned.
Obi-Wan glanced at her, arching an eyebrow. "I'm going as fast as I can."
Valencia spun around at a familiar sound, noticing several droidekas rolling toward them. She ignited her lightsaber, however before she could make a move, someone had grabbed her by the waist and pressed the cold tip of a blaster to her head. She struggled, before going still once she heard the blaster charging up.
"Obi-Wan, run," she urged.
He drew his own lightsaber. "I'm not leaving."
"You're both coming with me." It was Valencia's captor, now evident as Jango Fett.
She scowled. "Get that blaster away from my head and I will."
"No." Jango shoved her forward, keeping his blaster pointed at the back of her head in case she tried anything stupid. He kept a firm grip on her shoulder as he marched her in through one of the many caverns on Geonosis. This one in particular led into widening corridors, at the end of which a tall white-haired man in dark robes waited for them. He was oddly familiar, although Valencia couldn't recall if she'd ever met him. He looked old, but no less elegant for his advanced years.
"Ah, Jango." The man had a deep baritone voice and contemptuous dark eyes. Something about his demeanour made her certain that this must be Count Dooku.
"As you requested."
"Jedi, I see." Dooku surveyed them both closely, before turning his attention solely on Valencia, a frown creasing the lines of his face. "I recognise something about you, girl. Come closer."
Valencia didn't deem that wise, and she stayed where she was until Jango shoved her in the back, sending her stumbling forward. Dooku gripped her chin and tilted her face upwards so he could see her better in the dimness. She forced herself not to react, despite her initial urge being to spit in his face.
"Yes, I see it now. Qui-Gon's daughter. Valencia, isn't it?"
Valencia's eyes narrowed. "If you expect me to recognise you, you'll be disappointed."
Dooku released her, turning his attention on her companion. "And Obi-Wan Kenobi. You have grown."
Obi-Wan was likewise stubbornly quiet as Dooku examined the pair of them. Valencia was waiting to discover how he knew so much about them, but fortunately Dooku was quick to explain.
"Qui-Gon was once my apprentice as you were once his. I miss him. I could use his help right now."
"He'd never join you," Valencia snapped, prickling with annoyance at the mere suggestion.
"Don't be so sure," Dooku chided her, ignoring the fierce glower on the young woman's face, "If he knew the truth as I did…"
"He'd change his mind?" Obi-Wan sounded mildly amused.
"What if I told you there was a Sith Lord corrupting the Senate?" Dooku examined their doubtful expressions. "You don't believe me?"
"No." Obi-Wan's voice was flat, all mirth gone. Valencia likewise thought that Dooku was lying. They would know if there was a Sith Lord in the Senate, surely. He was attempting to feed them lies in an effort to gain their allegiance, and she was determined that it wasn't going to work.
"We could defeat the Sith together," Dooku stated, to which Valencia shook her head fervently. She didn't believe that was what Dooku wanted at all. He had an ulterior motive, they just didn't know what it was yet.
"I'm not going to work with you," Obi-Wan retorted.
"Then you will die. She will die." Dooku gestured to Valencia. "Jango, take her away, I wish to speak with him alone."
The words chilled Valencia as Jango seized hold of her arm and dragged her away. What was it that he wished to say to Obi-Wan without her hearing? She was seized with a feeling of dread, and could only hope that Obi-Wan's message to Anakin had gone through. If not, they were certainly doomed.
